Google custom search for mobile won’t affect that much

You don’t have to go far on-line to find a Google custom search bar. And I don’t mean “you” in general - I mean you, specifically. Just look up at the top right hand corner of this page. Yep, there’s our very own Google custom search bar. And now that service will be available to anyone with a mobile web page, because Google has launched its custom search service for mobile.

What’s the big deal?

The Custom Search Engine is a part of what Google calls its Co-op platform. The custom search tool allows anyone to put a search bar on their website, which will return results only from their website using Google Web Search software. It even allows the option for results from AdSense to be triggered, giving the option to monetise search for any website.

According to Google, creating a version of Custom Search for mobile was the number one most requested item on a recent Product Ideas survey. So Google is now offering mobile site owners the chance to use Google for their own search. The service offers two main options. First, you can redirect searchers to Google, where they will be delivered a mobile-optimised results page. Second, you can host the search results yourself - but Google warns in that case you’ll need to take care of optimisation yourself:

“Update on 10/23 @ 9:06 AM: Note that some configuration is required for the mobile-formatted results to be shown.”

Google Custom Search for mobile is currently available for Android devices, iPhones (and iPod Touch) and the Palm Pre.

What we think?

It’s easy to throw your hands in the air and say “crap, Google is steamrollering through mobile search”. But this news isn’t as huge as it might seem, nor does it mark the end for other mobile search services. People who are concentrating on new mobile search possibilities like augmented reality or hyper-localised location search won’t really be affected by this. It really just means that mobile web sites which used to have poor search facilities now have the chance to up their game a bit… which overall is a good thing for user experience on the mobile web.